Stop talking. Let the foreign to the sports world concepts of loyalty and finishing what you started, have a say every once in a while, will ya?

Cross your fingers that money was mum Pitt basketball fans. A 3:30pm press conference has just been called amid rumors of head coach Jamie Dixon being wooed by Oregon University and their chief athletic supporter, Daddy Big Bucks, Phil Knight, the owner of Nike. Which will confirm one of two things:

A) Money wasn’t talking, it was SCREAMING at Dixon. It’s like the drunk heckler in the bleachers that wouldn’t quit yelling at the left fielder. After a while, he just couldn’t ignore it any longer and took the job.

B) Pitt wants to put all the Dixon to be a Duck chatter to rest, so they are announcing an extension and a raise to go along with it.

The word on the street is that the latter is true, thanks to The Angry Fan for keeping me updated. But do we ever know until we know? Nick Saban or Ben Howland, anyone?

My personal opinion, which I know you are all waiting for, is that Jamie Dixon would be nuts to go to Eugene. Who wants to live in a place that is named Eugene? Doesn’t it sound like a nerdy dork city? Actually, Pittsburgh sounds like well, the pits, I guess. So I take that back. Kinda . . .

No offense, Ducks fans, but what does the Oregon program have to offer besides money?

Great facilities? Sure there’s the new $200 million Matthew Knight Arena. But Pitt has the relatively new Peterson Events Center, which has been called one of the toughest places to play in the country because of the Oakland Zoo student section.

Competition? The Pac-10 was a conference of cinders compared with the five alarm fire that blazed through the Big

Jamie Dixon Should Tell Oregon Where They Can Stick Their Millions . . .

East. Why leave arguably the best conference in the sport?

Talent? Oregon finished 8th in the afore mentioned conference of cinders. Pitt? 2nd in the Big East. Next season, Pitt will be returning ALL of their starters, sans Jermaine Dixon. Plus they have two recruits in the top 150 nationally. Oregon? ZIPPO. Dixon’s staff has a pipeline into the NYC talent pool, where would he recruit out in Oregon?

Cost of living? Dixon would need to double his pay to live in Eugene. The median home price is $225,890 with total cost of living 4.98% higher than the U.S. average. Pittsburgh’s cost of living? 15.51% LOWER than the U.S. average.

If Jamie Dixon DID leave to become an Oregon Duck, which again, I highly doubt, he would be a QUACK . . .

Okay, I am batting ZERO through the afternoon games of the quarter finals, so I am ready to redeem myself in the evening session.

But there’s one problem . . . when it comes to Pitt, I’m a homer. So I have to pick them. No way around it.

Even though the Panthers were embarrassed in South Bend during the regular season by a Harangody-less Notre Dame team, I have faith tonight. Why?

Easy. Revenge.

The Irish were desperate for a win with their NCAA tournament hopes on the line when these teams met during the season. They shot at a ridiculous clip in the first half against Pitt. Every time I turned around, Tim Abromaitis – which sounds like an STD to me – was tickling the twine. He infected the vaunted defense of the Panthers, that’s fo sho. But Pitt regrouped to win its last three and if I know this team, I know they play well with a chip on their shoulder and Notre Dame left a sour taste in their mouths.

Not to mention, Madison Square Garden has been good to the Panthers this decade, with Pitt going 24-10 and playing in seven of the last nine Big East championship games. So . . .

Pitt wins 68-62. I know. You’re shocked . . .

******

Will Huggy Bear look like this tonight? We'll see . . .

In the final game of the night, West Virginia and Bob Huggins face his ex, Cincinnati, for a spot in the semis. Mick Cronin has the Bearcats scraping and clawing their way through the Big East tournament, winning their two games by a total of four points.

But that ends here.

Why?

The Mountaineers have three guys – Butler, Jones and Ebanks – who score more than Cincinnati’s leading scorer, Lance Stephenson. Even if WVU struggles shooting early, they have too much offense for the Bearcats to overcome.

Congratulations to Naismith National Coach of the Year, Jamie Dixon of the Pittsburgh Panthers. A 4PM news conference is scheduled at the Peterson Events Center to make the announcement that one of the nation’s top honors in college hoops is being awarded to the Pitt Panther’s head coach.

University of Pittsburgh Panthers' Head Coach Jamie Dixon

During his six years as a head coach, Jamie Dixon has won more games (163) than any other head coach in NCAA history has in their first six seasons and led the Panthers to the Elite Eight for the first time in 35 years, tying a school record 31-wins in the 2008-9 season. Not to mention achieving the program’s first ever No. 1 national ranking, and first ever No. 1 NCAA tournament seed. I’d say he’s deserving . . . Not that I am biased or anything . . .

The award is voted on by the basketball journalist members of the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

“Pittsburgh had a tremendous season and much of that success goes to Jamie and the wonderful coaching job he did with this team,” Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president, said in a statement. “During his six seasons he has built a solid program that continues to produce wonderful results, both on and off the court.”